D.C. United presents new challenges for Union

CHESTER -- The question marks seem to outnumber the answers for the Philadelphia Union in their preparation for D.C. United.

How do you prepare for a team that has undergone major roster renovations in the last few months? How do you come to terms with a historically bad team in MLS play that is riding the momentum of a run to the U.S. Open Cup final?

And just where does the advantage lie in a meeting between a team that last week beat a playoff squad like Montreal and one that lost at home to the East's seventh-place team?

The answers to those questions will receive some elucidation tonight at 8 at PPL Park (NBCSP). But Union manager John Hackworth can unequivocally say one thing about the teams.

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"It's not going to be the game that a lot of people thought it was going to be a couple of weeks ago," he said Thursday.

The leading reason for that revelation is the recent ability of D.C. to find a glimmer of hope in an otherwise gloomy season.

D.C. (3-15-4, 13 points) has been simply atrocious in MLS play, scoring just 13 times in 22 matches and racking up a minus-23 goal difference this season. They're the only team without a win away from home this season, sporting an 0-7-3 record.

Their leading scorer, Luis Silva, has three goals. He's been with the team for all of three games since a trade with Toronto. Five of the 13 goals they've scored in the league this season -- counting the tallies of Silva, Conor Doyle and Jared Jeffrey -- came from players who weren't on the roster when July began. (Silva's status was up in the air as of Friday, though, after he suffered a blow to the head from former Union defender Bakary Soumare in the Open Cup semifinal.)

Those struggles didn't stop them from beating Chicago -- the team that downed the Union at PPL Park last week -- in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup Wednesday to advance to the final. It's a final that will match up MLS's worst team with its best, Real Salt Lake.

So then, what's the value in trying to predict anything in this parity-rules league?

"You never know what's going to happen when D.C. and Philly play," Hackworth said, a statement devoid of the usual allusion to the physical play that has marred many a meeting between the I-95 rivals. "But we're trying to stay really focused on the fact that we need to approach this game as a very important game, playing at home."

The Union (9-7-7, 34 points) know the importance of getting nothing less than the full three points, with MLS' balance contributing to a playoff logjam in which the Union are desperately trying to carve out space. The top seven teams in the East enter the weekend's slate of games separated by a mere 10 points.

The Union, though, at least have a better appreciation than most of D.C.'s predicament. Not only have they played D.C. twice, representing one of the scalps claimed in Open Cup play as well as topping D.C. 3-2 back in April, the Union understand all too well from last year's lost season what it's like to use the Open Cup to boost spirits for league play. And they know the danger of a team playing with nothing to lose.

"I think we probably have a better respect for D.C. than most people just looking at the standings and the points," Hackworth said. "D.C.'s also a different team. They've changed a lot of pieces in the last couple of months and they've found themselves again. We get that. We went through it last year, and we've just got to understand that on any given day, no matter who comes into play, it's a huge challenge for us."

In-house, it hasn't been the easiest of weeks for the Union. A lifeless start against Chicago that laid the groundwork for a 2-1 loss carried over into a fiery week on the training pitch, the irony of which was not lost on Hackworth.

But that week of duking it out in practice may be part two of a needed midseason wakeup call, the first part coming off the foot of Mike Magee in last Saturday's loss.

"I like the fact that our players are a little pissed off. They're upset with themselves, they're upset with their performance," Hackworth said. " ... It was chippy to say the least."

"You forget about it, but I was definitely annoyed for sure," defender Jeff Parke said. "... And I could tell guys were frustrated. There was some chippiness going on early in the week and there had to be some talks with Hack and some of the other coaches telling us to calm down and get over and move on. There's a lot of times that you lose a game and you don't want to take that loss into the next game and then have that affect the game that you have coming up. Let that light a fire under you and let that push you, but you have to move on as fast as you can."

The best way for the Union to move on, it seems, is with three points today.

They'll likely have to do so without starting left back Ray Gaddis, who left the Chicago game with an ankle injury. It would be the first game that the second-year pro hasn't started this season, with Brazilian Fabinho slotting into his place. The Union get a boost, however, with Keon Daniel (MLS disciplinary committee decision) returning from a one-game suspension.